December 2000 Page 1

Official Joint Publication of the Mid Atlantic Fiero Owners Association and New England Fiero Association

Vol VI No. 3

Fieros At Carlisle 2000

New EnglandFiero Association

out that the Carlisle folks would be mak-ing two shows, and separating the Power Jam into it’s own show. The Kit show (and, thus, Fieros At Carlisle) would get moved to September for 2001. All through the weekend, we kept hearing word of protests from the vendors and participants. Sunday morning, Carlisle Productions announced that due to all the protests, they would keep the Import/Kit show in May. The Carlisle Import-Kit/Replicar Nationals will be held May 18-20, Fieros At Carlisle 2001 will be

IT WAS TIME for Fieros At Carlisle 2000 again, and, once again, weather was the big story. Well, one of the big stories anyway.

Those who have been there in the last few years have seen the Compact Custom Power Jam grow from a bunch of Hondas and stuff to become a major part of the Carlisle Import-Kit/Replicar Nationals held each May in Carlisle, PA. Fieros At Carlisle had also become a big part of that show over the last several years. Before we got to the show this year, the word was

hold on May 19.Now, about that weather. It rained

throughout the day on Friday, and Saturday morning didn’t look real promising. Shortly after we arrived at the fairgrounds, it started to pour! As we started to think about a Plan B, the rain started to let up a little, then stop. We had a few small showers throughout the day, but we were still able to have a good time and show off our cars.

Continued on page 19

More pictures on back cover

Page 2 Fiero Pride

BOB SCHLAGPresident/Newsletter/Events4440 Paradise Rd, Dover, PA 17315-3902(717) 292-7647bobschlag@fieropride.comROGER CUTTER, Vice President2336 McComasWhite Hall, MD(410) 343-0342sefiero@aol.comBILL BEHRET, Newsletter TreasurerWhite Haven, PA(570) 443-7035wjbehret@emcee.microserve.comTOM DERR, Events Co-DirectorMechanicsburg, PA(717) 763-5748JASON HAUGHEYReading, PA(610) 736-0214fiero38@hotmail.comDENNY LAMBERTLeola, PA(717) 656-6485dlambert@epix.netRAY PAULK, Inter-Club DirectorHopedale, MA(508) 478-6786raypaulk@fierottop.comJEFF RAMBERG, Merchandise DirectorNewark, DE(302) 368-4086ramberg@delanet.comBILL SESSIONS, Membership DirectorWaldorf, MD(301) 638-3294bills3800@aol.comEARL SESSIONS, Treasury DirectorWaldorf, MD(301) 638-3294lildv1l@aol.com

Club Web Sitehttp://www.fieropride.com/mafoa.htme-mail: mafoa@fieropride.comGroup: www.egroups.com/list/mafoa

Ramblings

FIERO PRIDE is published quarterly by the Mid Atlantic Fiero Owners Association and the New England Fiero Association. Subscription is included in the annual dues. All memberships expire January 31. Dues paid during any part of the year entitles a member to all four issues. Most contents may be reproduced with permission. Copyright 2000. www.fieropride.com

Happy Holidays!It’s hard to believe that another year has gone by. When I was younger, they always told me

that time flies when you get older. I guess they were right.We are making plans for our two shows in 2001, and could

always use a little more help. Let us know if you’d like to pitch in to make these events more fun for everyone. And, make sure you have your schedule cleared for these days. Check out the Events list in this issue for dates.

We’d like help with a special project for Fieros At Carlisle 2001. We are planning a Pure-Stock Class, and need to get the rules nailed down. One thing we need help with is compiling a list of items for judges to look for, like a component being a certain color, etc. Here is where we need the expertise of those of you who have cars that are pure stock. Then, we will need judges to do this judging at the show. Of course, if your car is entered, you will not be allowed to judge. Duh! Finally, let me know if you think you would like to participate in this class. We expect it to be a small class, and we plan to have some special awards. It should be fun!

Speaking of Carlisle, we will be doing our usual Fieros At Carlisle again in May, as part of the Carlisle Import-Kit/Replicar Nationals. We also would like to see a group get together for a new show added to the Carlisle schedule for 2001: the Carlisle All-GM Nationals. This will be a fun day for us, as we have no plans for anything big. We understand that the Carlisle folks will have several classes and will award trophies, based on their own judging.

We also hope to get a good-size group together to attend the FOCOA Nationals, being held in Williamsburg, VA. This is the closest a National event has ever been, or ever will be held to most of us. Let’s make a good showing, and let everyone see our Fiero Pride!

Everyone’s renewals are due now. We have enclosed renewal notices in this newsletter. Be sure to get it in quickly, so we can make sure you continue getting all your newsletters. Speaking of newsletters, I think we are nearly back on track for getting the issues out on a more timely schedule.

Fieros are all over the Internet. There are sites for clubs, personal sites, informational sites, and sites for vendors selling Fiero parts and accessories. Your clubs are also there. If you haven’t already seen it recently, be sure to check out www.fieropride.com, the official home of our two clubs. We will be adding more to the site over the winter, so be sure to keep checking back. One of the things we will be adding is a member directory. We’d like to list your name and city, along with an email address (if available), and a picture or two of your car, preferably with you in the picture also. We have had pictures on the site in the past, and have restored them to the site. If you have newer pictures, send them to info@fieropride.com. If you don’t have digital pictures, just pictures on film, send them to the MAFOA address shown on page two. We’ll get them scanned and returned to you, if you’d like. Be sure to let us know if you’d like them back.

Speaking of Internet stuff, our club email list has been popular. As of now, we have 100 members signed up for this list. Typical subjects have been cars and parts for sale, help with repairs, and questions about options and accessories. Whenever a question is asked there is usually an answer. You can subscribe and have every message sent right to you, or you can receive a daily digest, showing all the messages for the day in one big message. Finally, you can sign up and not even receive messages, but go check on the website for the latest messages. To get signed up, go to www.fieropride.com and find the link for the email list.

We recently had our first measurable snowfall for the season, and when I left work I was reminded of one of the rules of Fiero use in the snow. I forgot to wipe the snow off the top of the window before I opened the door, and got a small pile of snow on the seat. One thing I did remember, though, was to get the skinny tires on the car before the snowfall. Makes a big difference in traction. It was a fairly uneventful ride home, thank goodness.

Now that winter has begun to set in on most of us, we are thinking about our winter projects. What are you planning to do? How about writing a little article about your plans, projects, etc. it will make interesting reading for fellow members. Oh, please keep it Fiero-related. Keep warm, and take care of those Fieros.

Till next time . . . . .

December 2000 Page 3

RAY PAULKPresident: 19 Ben’s Way, Hopedale, MA 01747Tel: (508) 634-3511 / Fax: (508) 634-3512email: raypaulk@fierottop.comMICHELE RUSCOETreasurer: 17 Indian Spring Rd, Danbury, CT 06811Tel: (203) 743-9037email: myfiero2m4@aol.comANDY VIRZIDirector - Recorder: 19 Comstock Drive, Milford, NH 03055Tel: (603) 672-8036email: fierofannh@aol.comSTEVE KELLEYDirector - Newsletter CoordinationPO Box 117 – 33 Spruce Park DrivePlainfield, NH 03781Tel: (603) 675-9193email: stephenkelley@fcgnetworks.netJODY LEMOS Director - Membership: 22 Beach Road / P.O. Box 977East Orleans, MA 02643Tel: (508) 255-6379email: cobra@c4.netERIC SCHNECKDirector - Activities: 2578 Cranberry Highway, Suite 2Wareham, MA 02571Tel: (508) 295-8015email: eschneck@bigfoot.comROB DABROWSKIDirector - Activities: 10 Elder StreetNewmarket, NH 03857email: chester0@bellatlantic.netJIM LUNDDirector - Webmaster: 186 Russell Street, Apt 3Worcester, MA 01609Tel: (508) 890-7992email: jim@fiero.netBOB SCHLAGDirector - Inter-Club Coordinator MAFOA4440 Paradise Rd, Dover, PA 17315-3902Tel: (717) 292-7647email: BobSchlag@fieropride.com

Club Web Sitehttp://www.fieropride.com/nefa.htm

New England Pit Stop New EnglandFiero AssociationNEFA’s “Rookie Year” is coming to a close. We launched the year with a founding meeting

at Bob and Holly Parker’s Kick Hill Farm last March 11th. 30 members signed up at that first meeting, including Bob Parker, who was voted our first lifetime member. We also elected a full Board of Directors with each being responsible for a specific aspect of running the club.

As of this writing, we now have 73 members. Of these, 6 joined only NEFA, 45 joined both NEFA and MAFOA, and 21 were MAFOA who also joined NEFA. I guess there are a lot of Fiero people in New England who are still excited about the Fiero and want to share the

excitement. Not only that, but we have members representing 13 states, so it’s not just a New England thing. I think it just shows that people enjoy and want to be part of something positive for the Fiero community. Scott Morris summed up this feeling when he stopped by for a visit recently. Scott and family moved from Massachusetts to Missouri this past summer. I asked Scott if he still wanted to be a member of NEFA/MAFOA… “Of course!”… (as if there were no alternatives) “I always read the [PRIDE] list and still feel part of the club.”

On Nov 26th NEFA held its first Board of Directors meeting at my house. Unfortunately this turned out to be the first “black ice” day of the year in New England but most braved the roads and weather. Only Rob and Renee were going to come but whimped out, something about cars spinning around on I-495 or some other lame excuse. But in their defense, Jim Lund and Bob Schlag couldn’t make it either. With a majority present, we discussed what went right, what went wrong and what could have been better. Mainly, we need a logo, see Page 7 - we are soliciting ideas; we need club Tee shirts, membership cards stickers and the like, but this is contingent upon the logo. We need to get this newsletter back on a more responsible timetable (which as you can see by this issue we are) and we need to welcome new members more responsively.

For the coming year, we have some great ideas brewing. Between the NEFA and MAFOA events, you can stay pretty Fiero oriented for the season. We will naturally have the NEFA Fiero Swap Meet at Kick Hill Farm again this year. Due to the scheduling of the MAFOA Dutch Classic, we are shooting for sometime late July rather than August. We really need to publicize and promote this more. It’s a terrific time and a great way to help and get helped with parts or memorabilia for your car. If you’ve never been to Kick Hill Farm, that alone is worth the trip.

Also, it looks like NEFA is putting together a racing contingency. With Bob Sears, an avid autocrosser, added to our clan, along with Eric Schneck, a “straight-liner”, we have a strong backbone for a team. Maybe we can take over the former Penn-Jersey challenge and run against MAFOA’s Roger and company. Englishtown, watch out! Bolstering the racing idea, there is a good prospect that NEFA will be sponsoring an autocross this coming year at Otis AFB on the Cape. Look for more info from your Events Directors on this. Let’s see if the MAFOA guys dare come into our neck of the woods!

The only firm date we have is the NEFA Leaf Peeper’s Tour. Reserve October 13th to enjoy some driving fun. This past year, we only had 9 cars but what a great ride. Starting in Portsmouth, NH, we worked our way up the coast of Maine to Boothbay Harbor. My wife, Janet, and Gwen Randolph had to console each other ‘cause their husbands wouldn’t stop at any of those neat stores… or even at that wonderful craft show in one of the towns we passed through. I kept hearing “Where are we…. We’ve gotta stop here on the way back.” We only made one stop on our return trip at L.L.Beans but, this seemed to be OK with Janet. By the time we got home, there were 410 more miles on the ole Fiero. Fortunately I took my “driver” Formula but I think the GT was jealous. As we always say, we own our Fieros ‘cause we love to drive them. So make plans for next year’s fall cruise and you can share the fun and excitement.

I think we can safely say we had a really good year. Several people pitched in to share the load. There was a lot of diverse activity, which is what we were looking for. There were some growing pains but nothing that couldn’t be overlooked or fixed. Our sister club association with MAFOA seems to be working well. This is all I could have hoped for and more. I, for one, am really looking forward to more Fiero fun and camaraderie next year with both NEFA and MAFOA.

Page 4 Fiero Pride

Upcoming

EventsMark your calendars for these events for next year. More info will be coming in future issues.

March 23-25, 2001: Florida Fiero Weekend, Daytona Beach, FL. The event hotel will be the Holiday Inn at Daytona Beach Shores. 800-722-3297 For more information,email dragon@yourlink.net

April 28-30, 2001: 3rd Annual (and maybe last!) All - Fiero Flea Market and Swap Meet at the Fiero Factory, Highway 53, Toney AL 256-420-5391

May 19, 2001: Fieros At Carlisle 2001, Carlisle, PA

June 15-17, 2001: FOCONE Annual Fiero Weekend, Old Orchard Bch, ME

June 29-July 1, 2001: Carlisle All-GM Nationals, Carlisle, PA

August 2-5, 2001: 2001 FOCOA Fiero Festival, Williamsburg, VA

August 18, 2001: Fiero Dutch Classic, Denver, PA

September 22, 2001: (tentative date) FOCONE Fall Fiero Show and Cruise to Kick Hill Farm. Show begins in Rutland, MA.

Check the Calendar Page on www.fieropride.com for the latest updates. If you know of upcoming events of interest to members, contact the Events Coordinators listed on pages 2 and 3.

WELL IT ALL STARTED OUT with Jeff and I towing his 88GT down to Jarretsville, MD to have his new 3.4 installed. I was planning on picking up an 86GT that was smashed and nothing was good from the fenders forward. But the car has PW, PDL, PM and full nice glass with no scratches, a good fastback clip, and a GT deck lid with stock wing. You know, all the good-ies. For 200 dollars, I figured I couldn’t go wrong.

Everything was going smooth (except for a little body damage incident from hav-ing to turn around on an old country road). We picked up the 86GT and were towing it home on the same car dolly we used for Jeff’s GT. Being unfamiliar with the area on the way out, I made a wrong turn, and right before I made the turn I saw that some minor sparks were coming from the rear of the car. It looked like the tailpipes were dragging, no big deal.

We stopped about 2 miles up the road at a 7-11, and just as I stopped the whole driver’s side of the rear of the GT erupted into FLAMES!!!! It sounded like a strut exploded! I yelled at Jeff that it was on fire, and at that time had no idea why. I told him to run inside and get a fire extinguisher or a hose, something to put the fire out. After looking at the back wheels, at that time GLOWING RED HOT, I came to the real-ization that the emergency brake had been engaged the entire time, about 20 minute drive! The wheels themselves were red hot. Lets not even talk about what color the ro-tors were! The fender liner, CV boot, brake line and strut were on fire! All the “local rednecks” became mighty interested. Ap-parently, it was the most exciting thing to happen in Jarrettsville in months. We got bucket after bucket full of water, to put the fire out and to cool down the wheels.

I knew the rotors would at least be badly warped, and I was afraid to drive it on the highway since the tires were hot and I was afraid of the sidewalls blowing out. We wait-ed about 45mins for the car to cool, and we talked to the locals, where we learned such slang as “goin’ turfin’” - driving through peoples front yards and ripping their grass up. What a great bunch of people!

While we were waiting, some big guy rolls up in his 95 T-bird. Fittingly the sound “Country Grammar” had the stereo system

blasting, and says his friend is looking for a Fiero. He would be there in five minutes. His friend gets there and says he’s inter-ested in the car to make a kit out of. I told him that there was extensive frame damage to the front but the rear was fine and the v-6 and auto tranny were decent. AND THE BEST PART! He offered me 200 dollars for just the car! Besides the engine and tranny, the only thing good that’s left is the per-formance sound system and power mirror switch and aux. gauge cluster. That’s it, he said he didn’t have all the money but said he had 120, I said, “SOLD”! I towed it to his house and dropped it off, and removed the wiring for the performance sound and the amp. I couldn’t get the sub box, as I had no tools. But, he said that once I mail him the title I could get the sub box!

So basically I paid 80 bucks for full power doors, deck lid with spoiler, and complete fastback section! Awesome deal! And I didn’t have to tow the crumpled chas-sis home and dispose of it after removing parts. Made me pretty happy. I’m happy everything worked out!

Mike LeCompte: hyptnotise@aol.comJeff Seidenzahl: fiero5sp

Buy and Sell in One Day!by Mike LeCompte and Jeff Seidenzahl

LEAKY TAILLIGHTS?

by Eric SchneckHere’s another trick for you! For those that have leaky tail lamps or have successfully dissected theirs, use 3M Strip-Caulk (Part No. 051135-08578 / Black) to replace the old sealer in your lenses. On a GT it takes six pieces, each piece pre-cut at one foot. It is very pliable, molding easily to the contours of the lens housing. Also, no mess on your hands! Simply place the caulk in the groove of the lens hous-ing with the wider flat side facing up. (It’s rectangular shaped, so you’ll see what I mean) Overlap the pieces by approximately 1/2” when connect-ing another. Then press the lens back together and wa-lah!

December 2000 Page 5

We will be putting together a drag race event for the coming summer. This will involve the following: NEFA vs. MAFOA show down at Maple Grove Raceway (PA) and Englishtown Raceway (NJ). Winner will get the coveted PRIDE TROPHY, which the winning club will keep for the duration of the year. Then the winner the following year will keep the trophy for one year and so on. Like the Stanley Cup for you hockey fans out there.

We have two races on the slate now. We (the Club) do not organize these. They will be at the mentioned tracks during their Pontiac Day race and show. For those that do not know, the Fieros race in their own class against one another. So there will be no Trans Ams or GTO’s to deal with. We will assign someone to keep track of the racing. Points will be given to the club that wins each individual race in eliminations. For example: Car A (repre-senting MAFOA) vs. Car B (representing NEFA). Say Car B wins, then NEFA will receive 5 pts.

In the final round, the winner will get 15 pts. for his club and the loser (runner up) will receive 10 pts. for his. Now if both belong to the same club they will give their

club a whopping 25 pts! There will also be points given out for best reaction time (5pts), fastest ET in mph (5 pts), quickest ET (5pts), and best 60-foot time (5pts).

I am hoping to get a big turnout from BOTH clubs so we can get some great matchups. There will be a number of engine conversions involved, so you can see which is best for you. If you have a 4 cyl. Fiero, do not worry. This is handicap racing, which means that if your car runs 16.8 and you are racing a car that runs 15.8, you get a one-second head start. If you are confused, please e-mail me at Bills3800@aol.com.

Two years ago, two 4cyl Fieros beat out 4 V6, 1 supercharged 3800, 1 normally aspirated 3800, 1 Turbo V6, and a 3.1 pow-ered Fiero. They competed together in the final. This year we expect to see a Pro Street Fiero race. However, I do not believe he will be allowed in our class cause it is strictly for street cars. BTW, the track will give out individual trophies to the top three racers in the class, so you will not go away empty handed. Dates are not yet determined. They will be over the summer. As soon as I hear about the dates they will be posted on the website. If you are not interested in racing come on out and watch and root for your

Model Mania 2K1Winter is here for those of us in the Northeast. We will be garaging our pride

and joys and preparing them for next year’s shows and cruises. But we miss that fun of getting together and enjoying each other’s company and stories about past conquests with our all-powerful Fieros. In order to make cabin fever a little more bearable, MAFOA is going to host its 3rd annual Model Mania. It will be known as Model Mania 2K1.

What is it all about? Why should you attend? Glad you asked. This is a get-together for Fun, Video Car Games, Favorite Car Movies (Bullit, Blues Brothers, etc.) and finally getting that model car, boat, plane or train out of the box and starting to build it. We will have areas setup for all of the above and will have all the equipment, including a paint booth and modeling tools, so you can either start your project or maybe even finish it. Go find your favorite car video, car video game and model. Then mark Saturday, February 3rd on your calendar for a trip to Brenda and Roger’s place in White Hall, MD for this Internationally Acclaimed Winter Event.

The festivities will begin about 10:00 AM. Bring a little cash, we will order out something for lunch. Also, snacks would be appreciated. Contact Roger at (410) 343-0342 or email: sefiero@aol.com let him know you’re coming, what you’d like to bring, and for directions.

See ya here!

Attention All Drag Racers!!club. There is also a very nice car show in the pit area that is professionally judged. You can even do both if you wish!! Hope to see you there!!!!

Bill SessionsMAFOA will kick BUTT!!!

Show off your club colors and support your club for the future! We have several items of apparel and accessories for your car which have the club logo emblazoned on them. Also available are a few toy Fieros. Any profits made from these items go into the club treasury, to make a better club for everyone. Contact Jeff Ramberg (see Page 2 for contact info) for availability as some items may not be available anymore or may need to be ordered. Anyone have ideas for additional items?T-SHIRTS: Available in several colors, grey and stonewash blue are most popular. Printed with red and gold MAFOA logo on front. $12.00 each.New T-shirt Design Now Available! New t-shirts have a large Fiero Emblem, with Mid Atlantic Fiero Owners Association printed on the front and www.fieropride.com on the back. $12.00 each.SWEATSHIRTS: Grey sweatshirts are most popular, other colors are available by special order. Printed with red and gold MAFOA logo on front and www.fieropride.com on the back. $18 each.VINYL WINDOW STICKERS: Vinyl stickers depicting the MAFOA logo for rear window, to show your club loyalty as you drive around, and at shows. These are very similar to the stickers you’ve seen on other member’s cars in the past, but with club website included. New Low Price $5.00 each.WINDOW-MOUNTED FLAGS: This is a nice flag about 12”x14” made from gold or red nylon fabric, double thickness, with large Pegasus shield and MAFOA logo printed in black. It’s mounted on a pole (about 20” long) that is made to clip over the top edge of a window. It can also clip on sunroof glass, or the flag can be removed from the pole and slipped onto the antenna. $12.00 each.FIERO HAT PINS: We have a few dif-ferent designs. Will have pictures in future issues.We are looking into engraved name tags and lapel pins featuring the MAFOA logo.

MAFOA MERCHANDISE

Page 6 Fiero Pride

“He who would travel happily must travel light.” - Antoine de Saint-Exupery, author and aviator (1900-1945)

Isn’t that the way of a Fiero owner?

I HAD NEVER REALLY heard about the Fiero until I drove my girlfriend’s 84 SE. I knew right away that this was a special type of car. It felt better than anything I had driven before, including an 82 Vette. I thought it was really easy to work on and loved the idea of an affordable mid-engine layout. I drove it every time I got the chance. I knew I was hooked.

I went to a local salvage yard to get some parts with my buddy for his 88 Escort and saw an 88 Coupe sitting in the back-field. I ran over to it and fell in love. It was red and looked to be in good shape. It was just an Econo-Coupe, 5 speed, no options. I went to find the guy that ran the yard to find out if I could get it, but he told me it was not for sale. It was on hold for a friend that was giving $400 dollars for it. The clutch was totally gone and the car would not move. I gave him my number and asked him to call if the status changed.

I went home and dreamed about owning it and customizing it to my own taste and style. I then got an idea. I went to the bank and got $400 dollars. I didn’t really have it to spend, but I needed to save this car. I headed back to the salvage yard praying all the way. I told the guy how I really wanted the car and showed him how I had the $400 cash on me. He said to call back the next day and he will see after contact-ing his friend.

I called the next day and he said to come pick it up. I was there within an hour with a friend’s trailer. I waited until my next paycheck and got a clutch kit for $100, which I installed myself. I used a long pipe under the car and 4 friends to lift the body over the engine and space frame. I got the clutch in and had the car on the road in no time.

I had to get 4 new tires before driving it far because they were all bald. I have now, in the 2_ years of owning it, added a 2.8 V6 (see that story below), a custom sub under the dash in the stock location, a wing, 15 inch diamond spoke wheels, a fac-tory sunroof, power windows, tilt steering, leather steering wheel, and countless other modifications.

I still want to add a fastback, as I had fallen in love with its looks. I was surfing eBay and saw one for $900. It was a red 86 GT that needed a new engine. I bid and got it for $1000. It was in South Carolina and, for $400, the guy towed it up to me. Meanwhile, I found a guy in the next town that was selling two Fieros for $500, an 86 SE and an 85 Coupe. I had to get them both because he wouldn’t just sell the 86. It had a V6 with 70,000 miles on it and ran good. It had a salvage title and the transmission would only go into 3 gears. I gave the 85 to my best buddy and the 86 was for parts and the 2.8 would go into the upcoming GT.

The guy from South Carolina brought the GT up. He was very nice and showed me pictures of his 85 Coupe. He begged me for a ride in my 88 Coupe and wanted to drive. I was hesitant but said OK. We took off and he redlined my Iron Duke. I yelled and he said I should always shift there. I told him to “keep it under 4 grand,” and he did. The next day I noticed my oil pressure was low and it had a knock. I was so upset.

I decided to put the V6 in the 88 and get another V6 for the GT when I got the money. I am still waiting for an engine for

my GT but I think I have one, a 3.4L. I will let you know in an upcoming issue if I get the 3.4 or not and I will tell all about the install.

Since owning my Fiero I have met many Fiero folks. They are the greatest bunch around. I love to go to shows and events all over the place just to meet new people and to show off my pride and joy. I can’t stop thinking of my Fiero and getting new Fiero stuff, including toys and books. I also love to work on my friends Fieros. I spend a couple hours a day on the Internet communicating with other Fiero enthusi-asts and looking at Fiero web sites. I think the translation of the word Fiero as “very proud” fits it well.

My Fiero Addiction

Joshua’s 88 coupe, all shined up and ready to go.

by Joshua Bumpus

December 2000 Page 7

RACING - Fiero vs. Eclipseby Jeff Seidenzahl

hell of it. I wasn’t really sure how I would fare but I haven’t had a chance to go to the track or dyno it so here was my chance. I remember when my brother had a GST for a short period of time and that thing was fast (but this was like 3 yrs ago when I thought anything faster then my moms car was unreal). I was in 3rd gear doing about 45 when I switched lanes. I floored it com-ing up the right hand lane passing all the cars ahead of us. I was actually picking up some lost ground. I shifted at about 5500 and I stayed even with him the rest of the way, I didn’t look at the speedometer but the good old headlight door came up and last time that happened was at 110-120 so I am guessing around there. We started to approach a residential neighborhood so we both shut it down. At the light I pulled up next to him and he either gave me the finger or thumbs up, I couldn’t really tell because his window was deeply tinted. I think it was thumbs up though. As I said we approached a residential neighborhood so we didn’t race at that light or anything. I was surprised that I kept up with him. I was thinking to myself I would like to race him at a light so I could get the jump, then try to hold it tough after his turbo spools up.

ROUND 2I AM COMING HOME from work, same road. This time I am at the opposite side of the light, coming from the residential neighborhood to the open road. I start off easy and (as usual) I get stuck behind some retard doing 5 under the limit. It’s dark at this time and you can really only tell the difference between a car and a truck. Well I see this car come out from behind me to pass. Guess who it was?? The SAME Eclipse that I had raced 5 hours earlier! I heard the ring bell go off (ding ding) as I started to follow. This time was just like the last time, I was gaining ground until I shifted into 4th where I stayed about the same. We approached the light and I pull up right next to him. Let’s settle this I yelled out of the window. He revved up in agreement. The light turns green and I got a GREAT launch, minimal wheel spin and I was gone. He was spinning for a second or two before I saw him start to catch up

in my rearview. I was shifting as fast as I could through second, then to third. He was right at my door at this point. I shifted into fourth where he gained that half car back and we were almost dead even. We were at about 100 by this time and the light ahead of us was red. He didn’t say anything though. I revved up again, ready for round 3, but then I noticed he had his blinker on. I couldn’t see the expression on his face though because his windows were tinted but I think he was mad because he didn’t even look in my direction.

So that was my Friday racing story. While it wasn’t a kill or anything, it was the first time I got to test out my modi-fications against something other then a slow ricer Civic. Needless to say I was pretty happy.

I feel that with 3.4 injectors, high vol-ume fuel pump, adj. fuel pressure regulator, K&N filter (to replace my dirty one), and performance ignition, I would have had him. Add forced induction to all that and he would have been eating my dust....

NEFA needsa logo!

But we need your ideas. They don’t have to be polished, just a rough sketch is fine. If you can, email the idea or concept Bob Schlag <bobschlag@fieropride.com>. If you can’t email, send it regular mail to Ray Paulk (address on page 3) who will scan it and get it to Bob.

All ideas will be posted on the Fiero Pride web site. Access the link from the NEFA page for go direct at:

http://www.fieropride.com/nefalogo.htm.

To prompt ideas, we’ve posted some logos from other clubs at the bottom of the page. Remember, it doesn’t have to be fancy, just an idea.Voting will be announced and will probably be via email. If you can’t vote via email, let Ray know and he’ll make sure your vote gets counted.

ROUND 1I WAS HEADED TO WORK one day around 4 in the afternoon, so traffic was kind of heavy. The way it works around here is like traffic travels in “packs” due to all of the lights. Well I just merged onto this road and I just beat a “pack” that was waiting at the light, so I was the leader. I was going pretty fast so I caught up to the next pack. As I was approaching the next pack I saw this red Eclipse merge onto the same road. I thought to myself, “Hmmm, competition!” So I got into the far right lane of the 3-lane road to pass someone in the middle lane. I noticed the Eclipse follow, then this sucker mom in an SUV cuts me off, so he goes from the middle lane behind me, to the right lane behind me, then goes around me after the SUV cuts me off. I figured I would follow his lead, and I did. The red Eclipse gains some ground since I was slow in switching lanes. He got stuck behind some slow traffic too so I had a chance to catch up. Here was my chance to get a better look at what I was up against. Here is what I could tell from the exterior:

Newer Eclipse GST (’95-’98?)Eibach Springs (stock rims though)Fart can exhaust (Greddy, according to sticker)K&N Intake or Filter not sure (just had K&N

sticker)EIP sticker also (?)

My Fiero 88 GT almost fully loaded (i.e. heavy)Stock 3.4 from ’95 CamaroPorted ManifoldsBorla exhaust with Dickman cat. elim. pipeEVERYTHING else stock 2.8, injectors/fuel system

- air filter - ignition - EVERYTHING.

So anyway, we are in the middle lane now behind more slow traffic. The right lane has an exit to another road, and the 5 cars clogging it up get off at the exit. He swings over immediately and floors it. There were about 3 rows of cars ahead of me and by the time I switched lanes he was already ahead of them, so in other words I was slow on the lane changing like before. I figured I would try to catch up to him for the

Page 8 Fiero Pride

I ALWAYS THOUGHT THE FIERO BRAKES where just fine and couldn’t understand why everyone dogged them. I never had a problem with them autocrossing and at Waterford Hills raceway. Maybe it was in part due to the fact that the Pumpkin’s brakes actually worked properly, including the rear brakes (emergency brake and all). Or the fact that I’m a strange one and race an Automatic, that with the right driving style you almost do more braking with the transmission than the brakes (especially with the TH-125’s steep gears and being only a 3 speed.) Then I met up with Gateway Raceway. With over 100mph straightaway followed by a hard braking left-hander, I had no brakes after my first session. I mean no brakes period, pedal to the floor. After they cooled down I had to change my driving style by dropping into 2nd gear for the infield and using the transmission to slow me down and save my brakes for that nice long straight. This did slow my laps down a bit but not as much as if I couldn’t slow down enough to make a turn. Then I drove Keith Huffs car with drilled rotors and boy could that car pull hard. This, along with the fact I had to change my brakes before I headed home, made me think about a brake change. What made things even worse was when I got home my brakes where never the same. I actually seemed to notice brake fade during spirited driving and panic stops. I changed the brake fluid and swapped out the old rotors figuring the heat from the track may have done some permanent damage to the rotors, plus God only knew how old the brake fluid was. After I changed it I noticed an instant improvement but the fluid went from clear to black in less than a week. On a side note, I’ve started to change the brake fluid at every oil change. Just get a turkey baister and suck out the old fluid, wipe out the reservoir and refill with new fluid. Only takes about 5 min and I figured that if it’s done every 3,000 miles then I might get away without bleeding the system, which can be a pain. I started doing this with Terri’s old GMC Jimmy that had ABS, and the worst brake system I’ve ever seen. I kept hearing about how old brake fluid (which likes to soak up moisture) would gum up the small passages in the $500 plus ABS module. Then I was wondering why I never did this on the Pumpkin. But I still wasn’t totally happy with my brakes and was still looking for the answer to better brakes, just in case I ever get to go road racing again.

I then talked to Alan Mooty (407-275-5040) at the Daytona show, and I decided to try using the Grand Am brakes on the front only, since the biggest problem I had was brake fade from the rotors heating up too fast. I could lock-up the stock brakes if I wanted too so I couldn’t justify the cost of over a $1000 of going to the bigger rotor even though a bigger rotor would also take longer to start fading. With a bigger rotor brake system if you don’t have a big tire to help you slow down then your not using the full potential of the big rotors and wasting your money. In simple terms if you can lock-up the tires with your

stock brakes, going to the bigger brakes you’ll just lock-up the tires quicker and you may even have longer stopping distance. Remember the time your car is braking the hardest is right before lock-up, which is why Anti-Lock brakes work so well. Sure the big brake kits are better but are they three times better since the Grand Am conversion is under $300 and the other kits are over $1000? Sorry, my money tree died a long time ago. I decided to do the Grand Am conversion and a bunch of my friends were waiting to do theirs until they saw how mine come out. Can we say Guinea Pig...squeak, squeak? Since my front brakes where getting low anyway (again) I sent an old set of rotors to Alan with a check for $90 where he cut off the rotor part leaving just the center hub and installs new lug studs. I decided to only do the front brakes since I wanted to retain my emergency brake to keep the car legal and mine still works great. The rear is just a one for one swap of the Grand Am rotor and caliper, easy but you have to work out an E-Brake system. Alan says some people have used a mechanical (verses electrical) line lock to hold on the rear brakes on. They usually work by pressing the brake pedal to engage the line lock and then when you let go of the pedal the back brakes will stay on until the lock is disengaged. Alan also suggested a master cylinder from a 92 full-size 4x4 blazer. While I was waiting for the hubs to come back I bought all of the other parts from Pep Boys: Rotors, and calipers from an 88 Grand Am, (if you get the “loaded caliper” they come with pads and pins etc) Fiero wheel bearings, and the Blazer master cylinder. I also decided to order a set of stainless braided brake lines since everything was coming apart anyway. Since the master cylinder only takes about 15min to install I decided to try it first. There was definitely a difference. The car felt like it had been turned into a manual disc brake system. You had to push down hard on

by Keith and Terri Gerhard

The Great Pumpkin

Grand Am Brake Conversion

Before - The Original Fiero Brakes

December 2000 Page 9

Murphy did decide to make the job a little interesting. The hub went on fine but I had problems with the rotor. When I tried to put on the rotor it hit the dust shield and the caliper-mounting bracket. I thought no biggy, I’ll take off the dust shield and get out the grinder out and take a little meat off of the bracket. With that done I put on the caliper, or should I say, tried. The outboard pad on the caliper would not clear the front of the rotor. It was just a couple of millimeters too tight. I started to grind off some of the metal and managed to get the caliper on but the wheel wouldn’t spin. I was thinking about grinding more off, but then realized that if the bracket wasn’t ground exactly parallel with the rotor the brakes would wear funny. If I had used used parts I might not have a problem since the rotors and pads wouldn’t have had as much material. Although I might have a problem the first time I did a Pad or Rotor change. I didn’t want to cut a brand new rotor and getting the brakes shaved was just wasting money and would have to be done every time the brake pads where changed. I decided to take an extra set of brackets and have the pads that the calipers mount to shaved down at a local machine shop. It took me half a day just to find one that would do it for me, and it cost $65 (about one hour worth of work)

With the modified brackets, and after doing an anti-Murphy dance, I tried the swap again. This time everything went smoothly. I had left the braided steel lines on after the first attempt and the moment of truth was coming. I got in the car after Terri helped me bleed the brakes, and the pedal felt good. I went down the road and gave them a try and Murphy decided to give me one last poke. The car pulled to the right. I figured it was that the machine shop just cleaned up the one I ground by hand and matched the other side with the same amount material removed. I told them to take a little more off of the one I started but since I had to wait for them to have an opening in their work schedule they had probably forgotten. As the brakes heated up it got less noticeable. They weren’t tight when I installed them; I

Parts - These are the Parts for the Conversion

After - New Vented Brakesthe pedal to get the car to slow down. This was really notice-able at parking lot speeds and on the road they definitely pulled harder and the pedal was very high. All of this was due to the bigger bore of the master cylinder. Moves more fluid faster but takes more pedal pressure; it’s all physics, dude. I wish I would have found this out a couple of years ago when I converted my 60 Chevy P/Up to Disc brakes, I had a lot of pedal travel (went almost all the way down to the floor) and it was very easy to push down. I needed a bigger bore since it already had a Mopar car disc brake master cylinder but with truck brakes. It’s all coming together...now if I could just figure out how to hook the Dakota’s 360 to the Fiero and get the Flux capacitor to flux...sorry, where was I? When I went to the Carlisle Show there was a Fiero Store mini catalog in the goody bag and they had a Grand Am Brake kit for about $280 for everything, including a caliper-mounting bracket. I called Alan if I had needed a new bracket and he said I wouldn’t. That little voice inside of my head was saying that maybe Mr. Murphy might end up having a little fun with me when I try to put these brakes on.

I received the hubs from Alan, which looked very good. A week later I had some spare time so I decided to try to install them. Well

figured that the right side must have less air gap between the pads and the rotor so the brakes on the right side grab first.

THE VERDICTThe Pull is almost completely gone now that the brakes are

broken in or seasoned, as they would say (no not with salt and pepper). I like the way they feel. They don’t fade as quick and cool down much faster. After some spirited driving (or as my dad would say “driving like an idiot”) on the back roads of PA, the brakes before would start to get mushy, start smoking and would smell so bad I got nauseous. Now they’ve never faded once and you could only smell the brakes a little bit. For under $300 and the ease of installation (when Murphy stays out of your hair) you can’t beat it. The kit from the Fiero store looks like a very good buy since it comes with the modified brackets. But, if you get Alan to modify an old set of rotors and shop around for the best price on the other stuff, you could save some money, plus you won’t have any cores that have to be shipped back. If you use Alan’s hubs try your stock bracket first before having it modified since he said I was the only one who had that type of problem. Maybe Murphy just likes me…

Page 10 Fiero Pride

December 2000 Page 11

Page 12 Fiero Pride

Ball Joints DO Break!by Wes Hairston

ON THE EVENING BEFORE the Annual Fall gathering of MAFOA at Roger and Brenda Cutter’s place, I convinced my wife to take a ride with me to pick up some soft drinks (per Roger’s request of earlier in the day). I had spent all afternoon tracking down a shorted wire in the connection post going to the MAP Sensor mounted at the side of the Air Cleaner. New plugs, wires, cap & rotor, as well as setting the timing 3 dozen times didn’t seem to get things right. It would run great a while, then start missing, bucking and spitting. Went though all the drills, but nothing seemed to be wrong. Accidentally touched the errant wiring while the car was running the idle smoothed right out. Moved it a bit, the en-gine started missing - Found YA!!! It took a delicate splicing and soldering effort that left the Four-Banger purring like a kitten (well maybe an over sexed alley cat).

I had even got out the shop vac and sucked up all the pine needles from the carpets, windshield & engine vents, washed the dust off and checked the air pressure

at all four corners. When on the way back home I hear a sickening sound of metal breaking, feel the left front of the car take a nose dive into the oncoming lane of a twist-ing two lane road. I had chosen to take the “spirited & challenging” route home thru the park. I was enjoying the sweet sound of the properly tuned engine as it was worked thru the gears, in and out of a few serious bumps and curves.

It took about three hours and $50 for roll back tow truck to get to me and pull the car from the ditch I had pushed it into to get off the roadway in a blind curve.

This car was thoroughly inspected two years ago after installation of new struts, shocks, front bearings, calipers & rotors (less than 5,000 miles & several lubrications since). There was no warning & we were quite lucky that there was not oncoming traffic at the time the ball joint broke. The replacement cost $18 at the local discount parts store. Disassembly revealed that the bolt simply snapped, just

above ball portion. Old housing was easily “banged out with hammer” - (top down) from the wishbone arm. Greased the new unit circumference with chassis lube, then pressed it into the control arm with rig of C clap, piece of pipe with inside diameter large enough for new ball joint to fit inside. A solid piece is placed under the flat round bottom of the new unit bracing it from be-low on solid surface. A couple of downward whacks with 2-lb hammer to the piece of pipe (it’s around the ball joint bolt, above and in contact with the wishbone arm) should seat it up flush into place. Have yet to torque the retainer nut and probably stop in at the alignment shop.

Given the age and 200K plus mileage I’m inclined to credit this experience to metal fatigue. Next Spring for the sake of safety I plan to change out the ball joints in my other cars as a matter of suspension maintenance (85 GT 104K & 84 SC 76K miles).

Upper Appears to Be OK The A-Frame is Not damaged.

The MAFOA toolbox now consists of a Brake Repair Kit, an Engine Hanger, a Rivet Tool, a Steering Wheel Puller, a lock plate remover, a Suspension Bushing Removal and Installation Tool, and a Scan Tool. All tools include operating manuals.

We also now have a Cruise Control Tester, donated by Bob Nielsen.

The most recent addition is a dolly, with wheels,

to support a Fiero frame while the cradle is re-moved. This was donated by Paul Stevens.

Loan policy states that the member sends us a deposit for the value of the tool. We will hold the check until the tool is returned. The member is responsible for paying any postage for shipping.

Contact MAFOA for details and availability of tools, as well as suggestions for additional tools.

The

MAFOA toolbox

by Bob Schlag

December 2000 Page 13

The Lower Ball Joint Has a Clean Break Left Front Suspension

Want to keep your V6 cooler without making major modifications? Buy and install the Hypertech 176° fan switch. Don’t buy the thermostat, just the switch. Your engine will still warm up during cold weather, but your fan will switch on earlier, keeping the engine cool, especially in hot weather.

I’ve heard arguments that it short-ens the life of the fan, but from my perspective it’s minimal extra wear, since the fan runs when you use the AC or defroster. Unless, of course, you don’t have air conditioning.

I’ve had the switch in both our Fie-ros for more than two years, and have had no problems with it, and never worry about the engine temperature anymore.

The fan switch is located on the right side of the engine, near the thermostat housing (see photo).

I found the job was easier when I pulled the short section of vacuum hose above the switch.

You don’t need to drain the cool-ant, just make sure the engine is cold. Squeeze the sides of the connector and pull to unplug it.

Cool running!

It’s been my experience. . . by Denny Lambert

Keeping it cool!

Fan switch location, right side of engine.

Page 14 Fiero Pride

THE GAS GAUGE on a Fiero seems to be a PITA (Pain in the Butt) for all of us. I ran out of gas 5 times before I broke down and decided to fix it. It didn’t take too much investigation to figure out that the problem is with the sending unit which is part of the fuel pump assembly inside the tank. Having dropped Fiero gas tanks before I was none to anxious to jump into this job. But when my fuel pump failed and I was forced to drop the tank, I figured that I might as well fix the sending unit too.

The fuel gauge sending unit for the fuel gauge is a simple potentiometer which var-ies its resistance with the level of the fuel in the tank. It’s supposed to read 0 ohms when Empty and 90 ohms when Full. The problem is that this “pot” never seems to get down to 0 ohms and always goes much higher than 90 ohms. Of the fuel gauge sending units that I’ve have removed, they usually read about 15 to 20 ohms with the float all the way down (Empty) and about 120 ohms with the float at the top. This means you’ll run for quite a while with the gauge reading Full and run out of gas when the gauge reads 1/8 to 1/4 tank. Sound familiar?

A potentiometer is a variable resistor. Its comprised of a resistance coil and a “center-tap” or “wiper” which slides along the coil. The resistance is measured be-tween the center tap or wiper and one end of the coil. As the wiper moves along the coil, the resistance between the wiper and the end of the coil changes. Right at the end, under ideal conditions, it reads zero.

The potentiometer of the fuel gauge sending unit is made from components. The resistance coil is literally a 1/16” fiber board about 1/2” wide with a resistance wire wrapped around it. The “wiper” of the pot is tied to the tank float. As the fuel level rises and falls, the wiper moves along the edge of the coil and varies the resistance between the wiper and the top end of the coil. (The float goes down and the wiper goes up.) There are fine tune adjustment screws which actually tilt the coil board in and out to change the contact point of the wiper but its not enough to really fix it.

The problem is that the wiper never gets down to the bottom coils of the resistor to read zero. The fix is to “short” the bottom

coils to meet the point where the wiper contacts at its bottom most position. Here’s what to do:

Remove the sending unit from the tank. (Not a really fun job but necessary.) The wiper mechanism and resistor board should be fairly obvious they are probably under an aluminum cover which is easily removed with bend tabs. Note the screws with the springs on them at the top and bot-tom of the board. These are the adjustment screws. Note that the last coil of wire falls under the spring on the screw. This is the contact point.

Although you can bend things to try to make it work, this might damage parts and is often ineffective. You may break something. Another “not recommended” technique is to remove some coils at the bottom. Here too you can get in trouble by breaking the wire or loosening the coils. Also, to get to zero ohms, the wiper would have to slide to the last coil and perhaps off the coils all together. Not a real good solution.

The better way is to first set the adjust-ment screws to a neutral position 1/2 way through their adjustment. Now mark the lowest point the wiper goes on the coil (mark with something like a “Sharpie” pen.)

On the side of the board, you will have to clean the surface of the coils because you are going to make a solder bridge from the last coil to the coil where the wiper last contacted. I either use a wire wheel in my Dremel tool or a fiberglass burnishing brush which I got at Radio Shack (Cat. No. 64-1986). When you have the varnish removed from the coils and they are clean, coat them with solder flux (plumbers paste) even if you use resin core solder. This wire does not like solder. I even use Muriatic

acid to help clean the wire. Then solder all the last coils together. Note, this is elec-tronics work, not work for solder guns or torches. If you don’t have a “pencil” type, electronics duty soldering iron, you may be better off going to an electronics store or TV repair place to have this done.

Now remount the coil board. Naturally clean the springs and screws for better contact. (0 ohms is tough to get ... when you want it). Attach ohmmeter to the gauge out put terminals (they should be pink and black, at least in the wiring harness. If not, they should be obvious if you’ve gone this far.) Hold the float as low as it can go and run the upper adjustment (empty position) screw in and out to see what the lowest ohm reading you can get it. On mine I got 1.9 ohms. I turned the adjustment screw in on my units until I got a consistent low read-ing of 1.9 ohms. I then backed it out ‘til the ohms started to climb. You want to set this adjustment right at this break point.

Now do the same with the lower screw ‘til you get 90 ohms with the float all the way up. When you get this “Full” output set, go back and recheck the Empty set point. You’ll probably have to do this a few times as one setting affects the other. Remember that the bottom must be set right at the break point mentioned earlier. When you get both ends set, your sending unit is calibrated.

Now you can pop the cover back on the resistor coil, drop the sending unit/fuel pump back into the tank and “throw the tank back up in place. (Ya, I wish it were that easy. I always tend to cut the heck out of my hands when I do this. It’s trying to get all those damn tubes and hoses back on that’s a killer.)

If you did the job right, your gauge will be correct. If you still have problems, you can check the gauge with a 90-ohm resistor and a solid wire. Remembering that the pink and black wires are the sending unit wires, you can put a 90-ohm resistor in place of the sending unit. The gauge should read Full. Then put a solid jumper in and the gauge should read Empty. If it doesn’t, your gauge is messed up. But a bad gauge is seldom the problem.

Now if you run out of gas, it’s your own damn fault! I speak from experience.

Does Your Gas Gauge Lie To You?

by Ray Paulk

December 2000 Page 15

How I Got my Fiero by Jaime Garman WHEN I WAS 16, my mother was watch-ing a local television show where they would advertise used cars for sale. One guy came on and said that he was having a contest. All you had to do was write an essay about why you think you deserve to win a car. My mother decided to write something, it was worth a shot.

A few weeks later, she got a call at work. It was the guy from the garage that was giving away the car. He said that he had nar-rowed it down to two essays, my mother’s and someone else’s. He couldn’t make up his mind, so he asked his wife to decide. His wife thought that my mother’s essay fit the purpose of the contest the most, to give a car to someone who really needed it.

The guy also told her that she had a choice between two cars. One was a beat up junky old Ford Fairmont, and the other was a red sporty-looking Fiero. My mother knew that I would hate to even go near the Ford, so she picked the Fiero. She had de-cided to keep this all a surprise, so I knew nothing except to dress nice, that some people were coming over after work.

That night the guy, his wife, and their

kids came to our house with a truck and a Fiero. I had no idea who these people were or why they were at my house. The guy said, “Are you Jaime?” “Yes,” I said. “Well, then, this is your car.” “Um....what?” I said. Then my mother told me that I had

won the car from the contest. I was in awe. I had never seen a Fiero before in my life and all of a sudden it was the most beautiful thing in the world. To this day I still have it. It needs a lot of work but it’s not too bad. Someday it will be gorgeous.

Notice the Unique Shape of the Open End

These Wrenches Come in Sets

Tool Review By Bob SchlagCraftsman Quick WrenchLAST YEAR SEARS was advertising their Quick Wrench. It was supposed to be like a ratcheting open-end wrench, something that had often wished I could have. So I asked Santa for a set, metric of course! Christmas Day I got a heavy package and inside, I found a set of shiny new wrenches.

I’ve been using these wrenches for almost a year now and thought I would share my experiences with them. My overall impression: they are great for some uses, unusable for other uses.

The ratcheting feature is handy when there is enough room to swing the wrench handle back and forth. If it is in a cramped space (there are a few of them in Fieros!), there may not be enough to get a grip on the bolt or nut head. You know, those places where you only have a few degrees to be able to turn the wrench. Also, you can’t flip the wrench over for a better angle, as the ratchet action works in one direction per side. But, if you have the room, they are real handy, once you get the hang of how to use them. Another “good news, bad news” thing is the length of the wrenches. They are “up to 30% longer than conventional wrenches,” according to the Sears ad. This is good for additional leverage, but again, it can be a problem in tight quarters.

So, the bottom line is that these are nice wrenches to have as a second set, but I wouldn’t use them as my only set.

Page 16 Fiero Pride

Ads are free for current members and will run for two issues, unless otherwise requested. Contact Bob Schlag (MAFOA) or Steve Kelley (NEFA) – See pages 2 & 3 for addresses – if you have a new ad or would like an existing ad to continue.

CLASSIFIED ADVERTISINGMIRROR CONTROL REPAIR PLATE - Reinforcement backing plate

repairs broken-out remote control bezel on driverís door mirror. Kit includes instructions, plate, and extra bezel nut, and two extra door panel clips. $8.55; Tom Derr, (717) 772-2611 wk.. Harrisburg, PA

EMBROIDERED FIERO EMBLEMS. Gerald Dietrick has made a very nice Fiero GT embroidered emblem. It can be done as a patch, or you can send him your jacket and have it stitched right on it. For more information, contact Gerald at (330)628-0088, or 2060 Steffy Road Mogadore, OH 44260.

SHIRTS WITH EMBROIDERED FIERO GT LOGO. Custom Design, nice quality. Colors: White, Black, Red. T-shirts $18, Golf Shirts $23. Add $3 each for shipping and handling. Send order with Quantity, Size, Color, Name, Address, and Phone Number. Send to: Chuck Brown 2118 Whited Street Pittsburgh, PA 15210.

INTERNATIONAL RESEARCH MOTORSPORTS, INC. (IRM) has devel-oped a new EGR Tube. The replacement EGR Tube uses aerospace technology to solve the breakage problem experienced by V-6 Fiero owners. It is a flexible stainless steel tube with a braided stainless steel cover, which makes it resistant to vibration that “kills” the stock tube. The EGR tube comes complete with gaskets, and will fit all 85-88 V-6 Fieros. The price is $90, with a discounted price to club members of $81. The part number is 300-0064. IRM, 18100 Cashell Road, Rockville, MD 20853. (301)948-3301.

1988 FIERO GT - Red with tan interior, automatic, 65k miles, AC, power locks, power mirrors, power windows, cruise, wing, gold lace wheels, plain roof, tilt steering, remote trunk release, excellent condition. $7,900. Call Tom Derr (717) 772-2611 wk, (717) 763-5748 hm. Harrisburg, PA (99-1)

1988 MERA - one of the last Meras built on one of the last 1988 Formula platforms. Bought new in 1989 and have $33.5K in it, which includes numerous cosmetic modifications. Less than 12,000 miles, in per-fect condition. See color photos on rear cover of the 2Q97 issue of Pontiac Fiero Connection. I turned down $21K last year, but will consider offers. Bob Nielsen. (409) 448-4193. Montgomery, TX

FIERO TOY BOX — Extend your excitement with Fiero toys. You won’t believe how many there are from Micro Machine GT fastbacks through large remote controlled GTU’s. Send wants or for my list: Ray Paulk, 19 Ben’s Way, Hopedale, MA 01747, (508) 634-3511, email: raypaulk@fierottop.com. Check them out at the Annual NEFA Fiero Flea Market & Swap Meets at Kick Hill Farm, in Lebanon, CT.

BLUE 1987 FIERO SPORT COUPE, Excellent Condition, Original Owner, Garage kept, 94,000 miles, Runs Great, 5 speed Manual trans-mission, 2.5 liter 4 cylinder, AM/FM Cassette stereo, Removable sunroof, Pictures: http://members.aol.com/Blue87Fiero $3000 or best offer Call Randy 410-908-8338

1988 PONTIAC FIERO GT, Low miles, red with Gold rims, leather inte-rior, and much more. $3990.00. For more info call 508-996-8503 or carole@capecod.net

TWO COMPLETE HEADLAMP DOOR assemblies with motors. Factory painted white out of an 86 Fiero in good condition. $150.00 for both. Markp@belvac.com

CUSTOM COACHCRAFT 308 KIT for sale, everything except the Ferrari wheels and interior leather is included. The base car is a 1987 Fiero SE (V-6, 5-speed, PW, PL, TW, RWD, CC) new: power sun roof, shocks/struts, steering stabilizer, brakes, dog bone, engine stabilizer, lowering springs, poly, tune-up, battery, fuel filter, dew wipes (4), K&N, Accel wires and coil, alarm, power antenna). The fiberglass is laying on the car but not mounted. Exterior upgrades Included (all new) Ferrari emblems, new rocker panels, Ferrari lights & Rodney Dickman front bumper. The interior kit is from Auto Design including complete VDO gauges and wiring harness. A new leather steering wheel with Ferrari horn button and other new parts are included. Everything you need to build a first class 308. This was a father/son project that son has lost interest in. Over $12,500 invested, asking $7,000. Pick-up in Plainsboro, NJ (near Princeton). Checkout the website below. I have everything (except the floor mats) they sell for the 308...... exterior badges, steering wheel, shifter and the complete interior (uncovered) including the VDO gauges and wiring harness. http://www.kitcar.com/CR/CRFerrari.html E-mail any questions or send your phone number and best time to call. Bill Clark - wclark@nj.com

1987 PONTIAC FIERO GT, Maroon, 5sp, power everything, 126k miles in perfect running condition. Has trunk scoop, FOCOA side scoops, factory sunroof and comes with the factory Service & Owners manual, 22p parts/IL. Many other parts including another 2.8 engine. Many new parts to list. Call for more info. Anyone who has seen this car knows that this Fiero is one awesome GT. $3500. OBO Mark Tessier 508-662-5074

1984 PONTIAC FIERO WITH 1986 GT BODY. The car is a 1984 with a 1986 GT body with 1988 wheels——225/60/15 in front with 245/60/15 rear. The car has too many mods to mention but I will attempt to list some of them. The running gear, bearings, brakes, engine etc. has less than 18,000 miles. The engine is a 1991 Pontiac Grand AM Quad 4 with a 5 speed. A new ECM, ICM, coil pack, ACM. New fuel pump with a new spare. Oversize brake cal. & disks, steel braided lines, IRM suspension package oversized sway bars front and rear with greasable hiem joints, New upholstery consisting of everything including headliner. $150 put into the remanufacture of the factory radio which includes the EQ. Electric rear view mirrors cruse control, R134 changeover for the air conditioner with $400 worth of airquipe lines replacing the thin aluminum stock lines. Stainless steel exhaust with Super trap adjustable mufflers. Tinted glass, tires are BF Goodrich T/A and the rears have less than 1000 miles. Shocks are Bilstiens all around, The car has less than 1000 miles since a four-wheel alignment. It is to be noted that this car was the IRM in house project car in which I had a part of. The price is $6500 Rick Mandelson E-mail——— rollingthunder78@juno.com

1984 PONTIAC FIERO ORIGINAL OWNER - 73,380 miles, 2.5 liter L4 w/4 spd manual, power disc brakes front & rear, silver grey out/ med. grey cloth interior, luggage rack, dual side mirrors, tilt steer-ing wheel, remote gas tank lid, rear window defroster, am/fm radio w/cassette. Runs beautifully and is in EXCELLENT CONDITION, must sell, can provide detailed records of all work performed since it left the showroom. $1,200 - negotiable - Call Susan at (732) 469-4678 or sdecoste@att.com

1984 PONTIAC FIERO SE, The car has 150,000 miles, power windows, automatic transmission, 2.5L 4 cylinder, and a sunroof. I put new tires on, new brakes, new struts, new alternator, and a few other odds and ends. I am asking $1,350 for it. Adam Kerchner, Glen Rock, PA (717) 235-5375 or supd00d@hotmail.com

FIERO PARTS AND ACCESSORIES. $5.00 catalog free to club members. 10% discount to members. International Research Motorsports (301)948-3301.

December 2000 Page 17

1984 PONTIAC FIERO SE, Indy Pace Car Of-ficial Pace Car Decals available (never ap-plied). Factory equipment: power windows, interior ornamentation-door pockets, windshield wipers—control cycle, defog-ger, electric rear window, air conditioning, cruise control, steering wheel, tilt, wheel locking package, cooling system, heavy duty, Fiero limited edition—Indy pace car Pace Car package included: hinged roof glass window, mats, front floor carpeted, rocker panel molding, mirrors, outside—electric remote control, deck lid rear spoiler, leather wrapped steering wheel & shift knob, radio—am/fm stereo cassette, etr, clock, graphic equalizer, W/E option—special edition, 18L/40U special paint and lower accent, gray leather seats/red cloth inserts, special aero package, specific wheels, 14”, engine appearance package, exhaust system, dual outlet & stainless extensions, special emblems and graphics. Modifications: Engine: 1990 HO Quad-4 DOHC, 180 hp @ 6200 RPM Trans-mission: Getrag 5-Speed and shift pattern decal Bilstein front shock absorbers Koni adjustable rear struts HD front stabilizer bar Rear stabilizer bar Goodyear H-rated directional tires Gauge cluster: VDO Oil Pressure and Engine Oil Temperature. Additional Info: Odometer: 45K chassis; 36K driveline; 8K miles tires Fuel Mile-age: Over 30mpg over last five years Top speed (at 6200 RPM) in gears: 3rd-84mph, 4th-108mph, 5th-? Car has never been in collision. Price: $5,795 or whatever it takes to sell. Photos: Available via email Contact: Gerson M. Goldberg, P.O. Box 57, Yantic, CT 06389. (860) 887-7956. Email: gmgold@worldnet.att.net

1987 FIERO GT ONE OWNER. I ordered this car from the factory in 1987. Always ga-raged or covered. 2.8 liter V6 - mid-engine design. Multi-port fuel injection. 5-speed Getrag transmission (Pontiac added in 1987). 4-wheel disk brakes, AM/FM cas-sette stereo with subwoofer system (fac-tory), Air conditioning, Cruise control, Tilt steering wheel, Sunroof (removable and stores under hood), Power windows, door locks and mirrors, Delay wipers, New (less than 5,000 miles) Goodrich Comp T/A tires, Only 48,000 original actual miles. This car is all original, runs great and is in excel-lent condition mechanically. The interior is nearly like new with no wear or tears in the seats. You won’t find many Fieros in better condition. Valued at over $6000, asking: $4,200 Call Jay Bailey @ (508) 286-2280 (OK to leave message) or email me at jaybailey@mediaone.net

Kit Car SpecialistsFiero Conversions, Inc. Fiero V-8 Conversions3410 Walker Road ServiceWindsor ONT N8W 3S3 Collision(519) 972-4989 Multitudes of New & Used Parts

Fiero

FREYSINGER PONTIAC 6251 Carlisle Pike Mechanicsburg, PA 17056 (717) 766-8422 (800) 560-8422

Your Central PennsylvaniaFiero Headquarters

CLUB MEMBERS

Bring this ad in and receive 10% offparts and labor on all Fiero Service.

(Present at time of write-up)

Page 18 Fiero Pride

Fiero Dutch ClassicJuly 8, 2000, Denver, PA

FORTY FIEROS WERE there on the grounds of Zinn’s Recreational Park, in the heart of the Pennsylvania Dutch Country. The weather was excellent (after all, it WASN’T Carlisle!). Wayne was selling parts. Tom was selling toys and collectibles. We got a little sunburn. We saw REAL nice Fieros! We took over the Black Horse Lodge for lunch. Most of the

Fieros cruised to Crystal Cave, then we went back to Zinn’s for the Cruise Night. Those twenty or so Fieros sure got attention from the other participants, and there were a LOT of them.

To everyone who was there - thanks for coming! For those who weren’t, you missed a good one. You saw the comments in the last issue. We will be doing it again next

year. The date is set at August 18, 2001. Mark your calendars!

An extra special thanks goes out to all that helped, especially Joe Burke and Jason Haughey for doing most of the preliminary work. Thanks also to Jeff DeDay and Heidi, Bill Behret, Denny and Lynn Lambert, Jennifer Gilbert, Jeff Ramberg, and my personal favorite helper, Penny Schlag.

Winners HIGH MILEAGE CLASS First Robert Ruscoe Danbury, CT Gray 1987 Fiero Coupe 153,800 Miles Second Barbara Jannetty Naugatuck, CT Silver 1987 Fiero Coupe 120,816 Miles Third Rob & Renee Dabrowski Newmarket, NH Black 1986 Fiero GT 172,000 Miles

MODIFIED FASTBACK CLASS First Bob Schlag Dover, PA Red! 1986 Fiero GT 105,000 Miles Second Frank Valvano Scranton, PA Gold 1987 Fiero GT 86,250 Miles Third Keith Gerhard MAFB, NJ Orange 1986 Fiero GT 133,000 Miles

MODIFIED NOTCHBACK CLASS First Philip Randolph Coventry, RI Yellow 1988 Fiero Formula 30,000 Miles Second Jason Haughey Reading, PA White 1985 Fiero 2M6 SE 171,000 Miles Third Dennis Lambert Leola, PA Silver 1986 Fiero SE 57,000 Miles

STOCK FASTBACK CLASS First Tom Derr Mechanicsburg, PA White 1988 Fiero GT 25,136 Miles Second Jeffrey DeDay Selinsgrove, PA Bright Red 1988 Fiero GT 6,700 Miles Third Sara Derr Mechanicsburg, PA Maroon 1986 Fiero GT 29,587 Miles

STOCK NOTCHBACK CLASS First Michele Ruscoe Danbury, CT Red 1985 Fiero SE 190,000 Miles Second Jim Gilbert Oley, PA Black 1985 Fiero GT 58,000 Miles Third Candi Tennant Wormleysburg, PA Black 1988 Fiero Formula 90,000 Miles

REBODY CLASS First David Ivaldi Palisades Park, NJ Red 1986 SE (Ferrari Replica) 36,000 Miles Second Joe Burke Manheim, PA Green 1988 Fiero GT - IMSA 74,000 Miles

SPECIAL AWARDS Best License Plate Joe Lopchinsky 6 PACKIN Best Repaint Richard Gage Phantom Grey Best Custom Engine Phil Randolph 3800SC Best Stock Interior Dennis Lambert 86 GT w/ Tan Interior Roughest Wheels Bill Behret Red 86 GT Best Display David Ivaldi Ferrari Replicar Roughest Interior Richard Gage 86 GT Best Custom Interior David Ivaldi Ferrari Replicar Best Original Paint Frank Cook Maroon 87 GT Roughest Paint Bill Behret Red 86 GT Best Gem in the Rough Howard Quillen Red 86 GT

INTERESTING (?) FACTS - Of the 37 cars that were registeredfor this show, we made the following observations:YEARS: There was one 1984 model, four 1985 models, fourteen 1986 models, eight 1987 models,

and ten 1988 models. Models: There were six Coupes, three Formulas, four SE’s, one Sport Coupe, and twenty-three

GT’s. Colors: There were six black Fieros, one blue Fiero, one gold Fiero, two green Fieros, one Orange

Fiero, two grey Fieros, four silver Fieros, six white Fieros, one yellow Fiero, two medium red Fieros, and eleven red Fieros.

States: There were three Fieros from Connecticut, one from Delaware, two from Maryland, one from New Hampshire, three from New Jersey, one from Rhode Island, and twenty-six from Pennsylvania.

Engines: There were five 4-cyl cars, 31 with a 2.8l V6, and one with a supercharged 3.8l V6. First Names: There were two participants named Chris, two named Frank, two named Jeff, two named

Richard, three named Joe, and three named Robert (and its variations). Meaning: So, what does all this mean? I don’t know, but it was kinda fun. Be sure to join us next year,

August 18. — Bob Schlag

December 2000 Page 19

SPECIAL AWARDSTo add a little fun to the event, several cars were chosen by various (anonymous!) individuals in different categories. Below are those categories, and the “winners”. Each one received a t-shirt.

Cleanest Fiero ...........................Denny Lambert Dirtiest Fiero ............................ Howard Quillen Best Wheels ....................................Rich Myers Sorriest Wheels ............................ Rick Miemec Best Paint ..................................... Donnie Nash Most Mismatched Body Parts ...... Rick Miemec Most in need of TLC ....................Clint Nichols Best Custom Interior ...................... Bob Schlag Cleanest Stock Interior ................... John Scone Shabbiest Interior .........................Clint Nichols Cleanest Engine ............................. Bob Schlag Best Mascot ......... Donnie Nash (White Gorilla) Best Old Soldier Fiero (Old, battered, worn-out, faded, high miles, served it’s owner well) - Clint Nichols

SHOW SPONSORSThanks to our show sponsors for helping to make this another great show! Be sure to visit their websites, and let them know you appreciate their help.

FREYSINGER PONTIACCRISWELL CHEVROLET

CARLISLE PRODUCTIONSKICK HILL FARM

THE FIERO STOREV8 ARCHIE

MR. MIKE’S KIT CAR INTERIORSKIT CAR MAGAZINEPISA CORPORATION

FIERO OWNERS CLUB OF AMERICASTONER CAR CARE PRODUCTS

FIEROGRAPHIXMOTORSPORT SPECIALTIES

AMERICAN CUSTOM ENGINEERINGWAYNE’S WORLD OF FIEROS

RODNEY DICKMAN’S FIERO ACCESSORIESFIERO TOY BOX

HMF - High Mileage Fastback Class (9 cars) First Lee Murphy Hartville, OH Laser Red Met 1986 Fiero GT 106,712 MilesSecond Randy Ryman Harrisonburg, VA Red 1987 Fiero GT 115,000 MilesThird Chris Ashbrook Emmaus, PA Yellow 1986 Fiero GT 127,000 Miles

HMN - High Mileage Notchback Class (14 cars) First Robert Ruscoe Danbury, CT Silver 1987 Fiero Coupe 152,000 MilesSecond Jeremy Binkley Landenberg, PA Blue 1985 Fiero GT 137,000 MilesThird Rick Mahoney Ansonia, CT Red 1988 Fiero Coupe 380,428 Miles

MF - Modified Fastback Class (10 cars) First Matthew Sterling York, PA Med Red Met 1988 Fiero GT 89,000 MilesSecond Bill Sessions Waldorf, MD Purple 1988 Fiero GT 109,000 MilesThird Rick Myers Pittsgrove, NJ Red 1988 Fiero GT 104,000 Miles

MN - Modified Notchback Class (15 cars) First Earl Sessions Waldorf, MD Red 1985 Fiero SE 180,000 MilesSecond Jason Haughaey Reading, PA White 1985 Fiero 2M6 168,000 MilesThird Donnie Nash Westerville, OH Purple 1985 Fiero Coupe 172,452 Miles

RB - Rebodied Class (4 cars) First Andre Pouliot St-Lazare, QU Red 1985 Fiero SE (328 Replica) 8,000 MilesSecond David Ivaldi Palisades Park, NJ Red 1986 Fiero SE 36,000 MilesThird Bill Van Dyne Cohoes, NY Charcoal 1988 Fiero Mera 31,000 Miles

SFA - Stock Fastback (1986-87) Class (10 cars) First Larry Wheeler Spencerport, NY Burgundy 1987 Fiero GT 77,000 MilesSecond Frank Cook Mt. Airy, MD Maroon 1987 Fiero GT 77,143 MilesThird Steve Payne Damascus, MD Blue 1987 Fiero GT 47,000 Miles

SFA - Stock Fastback (1988) Class (8 cars) First Jeff DeDay Selinsgrove, PA Bright Red 1988 Fiero GT 6,598 MilesSecond Tom Derr Mechanicsburg, PA Red 1988 Fiero GT 65,210 MilesThird David Fanning Commack, NY Black 1988 Fiero GT 98,000 Miles

SNA - Stock Notchback (1984 - 1986) Class (4 cars)First Michele Ruscoe Danbury, CT Red 1985 Fiero SE 190,000 MilesSecond Jim Gilbert Oley, PA Black 1985 Fiero GT 57,000 MilesThird John White Lynchburg, VA Red 1986 Fiero Coupe 86,000 Miles

SNB - Stock Notchback (1987 - 1988) Class (8 cars) First George Mudd Baltimore, MD Burgundy 1987 Fiero SE 56,600 MilesSecond Bruce Septor East Quogue, NY Red 1988 Fiero Formula 42,000 MilesThird Tom Derr Mechanicsburg, PA Black 1988 Fiero Formula 85,000 Miles

CARLISLE 2000 WINNERS

The other big story involved the attendance. In spite of the threatening weather, over one-hundred Fieros made it to the Carlisle Fairgrounds for the second year in a row! And, for the fourth year in a row, the Fieros took the Club Participation Award. Thanks to all who braved the weather and joined us there. We hope to see you next year!

Continued from front page

Page 20 Fiero Pride

MORE PICTURES FROM FIEROS AT CARLISLE 2000